Planning a Wedding: What We Learned About Ourselves

BY GRIT CITY WEDDINGS

The Edmonds

planning @gritcityweds
photography @ambergeistphotography
florals @botanikal_design
venue @graybridgevenue
dj @bring_on_the_night.dj
dress @aandbe_seattle & @jennyyoonyc
tux @toptiertux
makeup @glamglowco_
catering @herbanfeast

Planning a wedding isn’t just about color palettes, seating charts, or choosing between buttercream and fondant—it’s a season that has a way of revealing who we are.

The long to-do lists, the big decisions, the tiny details no one else will ever notice… they all become little mirrors, reflecting our strengths, our quirks, and the way we show up for the person we love.

For many couples, wedding planning becomes a crash course in communication, compromise, and learning what truly matters. And for this Grit City Weddings couple, that journey brought out surprising strengths, meaningful growth, and moments of “wow, this is so us.”

We connected with one of our lovely 2025 brides, Jill Edmonds, as she looked back on the process—what challenged her, what grounded her, and what she discovered about herself (and her partner) along the way. Here’s what she had to say.

1. Looking back, what surprised you most about yourself during the planning process? 

“In the beginning of the planning process, we came up with a list of ideas and things we wanted to incorporate into our wedding. As the process continued, those ideas came into play and we actually used 99% of them. I learned a lot about myself during the wedding process. The biggest thing I learned was how detail-oriented I am and the extent of my organizational skills. I knew this was a quality I had, but it really showed during the wedding planning process.”

2. How did wedding planning bring out your strengths? 

“In addition to my organizational skills and attention to detail, I found strength in being able to make decisions fairly quickly. In everyday life, it’s usually difficult for me to decide on ‘big purchases,’ but when choosing vendors, the menu, fonts, and signage, it came easily to me. Also, Ashley and her team have a beautiful Excel spreadsheet that I used daily to keep track of my thoughts, ideas, and the overall planning process.”

3. And on the flip side—what challenges tested you the most? 

“Being detail-oriented is amazing; however, it does have its downfalls. With our wedding being 1.5 years out from our engagement, it was difficult not to overly stress about the smaller things in the moment. We tried our best to tackle one thing at a time, set it in place, and move forward. Surprisingly, I was not super stressed in the weeks leading up to the wedding because we had everything organized and figured out. We were proud that we had worked so hard throughout the planning process and could more or less ‘relax’ during the final weeks.”

4. Were there any moments where you thought, “Oh wow, this is so me”? 

“We had a few of these! In the beginning of the planning process, we booked our venue first. After that, our vendors fell into place because our venue had an extensive list of recommendations. One vendor we hired early on was Pop Up Oyster Bar. Being from the PNW, we enjoy oysters whenever we can and felt this was something that reflected us and our families. Another fun detail was our party favors. My husband and I go to the casino and do scratch tickets often. Gambling is a fun thing we do with our families and friends, so it felt like a personal touch.”

5. How did planning the wedding shape your relationship or communication as a couple?

“Although most of the planning and smaller details came from me, we had weekly check-ins to make sure we were aligned. My husband attended every meeting, venue showing, and meal coordination appointment, which made me feel like the process wasn’t solely on me. At times it was stressful, but he was there to support me or be a sounding board, reassuring me that everything would work out perfectly—and of course, it did.”

6. Did your decision-making styles differ? How did you navigate that?

“My husband had a few strong opinions about some aspects of the wedding. Being together for eight years prior to our wedding, we had been to many events and seen things we loved and didn’t love. Experiencing those things together helped us develop similar taste in what we wanted for our day.”

7. Was there a moment when you realized this process was teaching you something deeper? 

“I think the biggest takeaway for me was not to stress the small things and to understand that something will always go wrong. Although we curated the perfect day down to every detail, there were a few day-of hiccups that were beyond our control. These were minor, but we hired an incredible team of vendors to make sure everything ran smoothly. You can plan all you want and imagine the perfect day in your head, but ultimately something will not go as planned. Understanding that beforehand is important, because it’s not worth getting upset on your wedding day. Most guests won’t even notice these things, so it’s important to move on from them.”

8. What would you tell your pre-engaged self about who you’d become by the end of it?

“I’d tell us, as a couple, that it will be the most perfect day and you’ll be filled with so much love throughout it. It’s an amazing thing to see everyone you love come together to celebrate you and to truly live in the moment.”

9. What part of planning felt the most meaningful—or transformative—for you?

“My mom was a huge part of the planning process for me. Being able to spend time with her every day and run ideas by her was a huge help. My friends were also a big support system, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”

10. How did the experience shift your expectations about marriage or partnership? 

“Being married is the best thing ever! Seeing all of our hard work come together after 1.5 years of planning made it so worth it and such an amazing experience. It brought us closer than ever, and I wish we could relive the day every day.”